Hive Tenders Keep As Busy As The Bees

August 21, 1987

EUSTIS — Beekeepers Jim Gibson and Andrew Moore of Umatilla check the beehives in a yard north on State Road 19, owned by Billy Rhodes. Besides caring for Rhodes bees, Gibson and Moore maintain about 300 hives of their own.

Rhodes is one of the state's leading honey producers and owner of Bill Rhodes Honey Company, which has over 5,000 hives. Most of Rhodes' beehives will be returning soon from the West, where they were on lease for the summer. During the summer, the bees are fed sugar water because of the lack of flower blossoms that the bees use for food.